Audit: Maui Land & Pineapple's Future Uncertain

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) ¿ Maui Land & Pineapple Co. says its auditors have found the company's liabilities exceed its assets by more than $60 million, raising doubts about its ability to survive.

The property developer, one of Maui's biggest landowners, said in a report filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it's counting on being able to sell some of its real estate to raise cash and meet its financial obligations. But the weak real estate market may thwart those plans.

The uncertainty about real estate sales "raises substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern," the report said.

Maui Land provided the report on Deloitte & Touche's audit to the SEC Monday, the same day it submitted a registration statement announcing plans to sell more stock to current shareholders.

The auditors found the company's future was jeopardized by its financial losses, weak cash reserves, an inability to meet certain financial obligations and an overall balance sheet showing the company's liabilities exceeded its assets.

Maui Land has had to write off all the money it initially invested in the Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences at Kapalua Bay, a luxury condo and hotel development that's suffered from higher-than-expected default rates and lower revenue forecasts for future sales.